王の心臓 Kokoro no Ousama
by Iseki
Summary: In this new life there are lessons worth learning and things worth giving up; Akari seeks the Harvest King for companionship and the answers to life's great questions. Perhaps playing the fool was exactly where she needed to be. POST-AP, Sequel Story, Akari/Ignis
1. The Hammer Falls Swiftly

_AN: This is a three-part sequel to my oneshot **Hokura no Ousama**. The reason I have split the stories apart is so that the romance can be considered optional. You don't have to read one or the other but if you're coming to this first then Hokura no Ousama would offer some nice back-story and explain the unique setting in better detail. _

_Once again, this takes place on my skewed version of AP's mountain summit. It's inaccurate for this universe, but the changes are necessary._

* * *

"_And that is how change happens. One gesture. One person. One moment at a time."_  
― Libba Bray, _The Sweet Far Thing_

* * *

_**Part One: The Hammer Falls Swiftly**_

* * *

The can snapped open with a crisp _pop_. The hazy warmth of a summer's day still clung to the evening air as Akari, hair still wet from the shower and a limp towel slung across her shoulders, sat on her porch and took her first sip of the low alcohol content draft beer. Her back ached and her palms had grown fresh calluses under her gloves where the handle of her hoe rubbed, yet she still sighed contentedly.

She stretched languidly feeling the tension ease from her shoulders, and drank another great gulp until the delightful numbness took residence in her cheeks and the hard wood planks of the veranda were a comforting solidness beneath her.

Ahead of her fields the sky was a pink and violet blanket draped across the horizon, the Garmon Mountain a proud spire of black amongst a sea of cloud. She smiled fondly at the picture. The island was beautiful in any season but never did it impress her so much as it did after a hard day's work.

* * *

Utilizing the teleportation stone was unnatural. The first time Akari had touched the King's gift and been transported down the mountain she had quickly proceeded to empty her stomach and collapse. Her world had been overturned, her senses dizzied; the very idea of ever feeling upright and ordinary again was temporarily rendered an impossibility. The mountain, tall and undisturbed above her, seemed to mock her delicate human digestive system with its stature. She dare not assume it was within his plans for this to happen but she could not deny that the thought had occurred.

After that she decided to use the path only when in a rush and not directly following meal times.

"Ridiculous woman," The King spat fire. He refused to look at her offering, a basket of handsome apples and oranges, and instead focused on her knees which were once again bruised and bleeding.

"It's nothing," she interjected shortly, "I'm thinking of hiring some help to clear the pathway up here."

Distracted from his original concern the King had the sagacity to look troubled, "Why?"

Akari knelt near the hokura ignorant of her gritty knees. She rested her basket and did her best to place the fruit in a happy little line in front of it, wiping away the natural dust that had settled on the shrine's eaves. It was always the same. He never bothered with upkeep, probably refused to look at it at any time other than when she sat there to pray. She would speak to the sprites to take better care of it; if only she could.

"Because the mountain is safe again. It's a shame that I'm the only one who visits."

"This again," he rumbled. "It is unnecessary even for you to visit."

Akari laughed, not at all disturbed by his corrosiveness. "You're just being greedy, you should share the wealth. It's fairly dangerous up here but as beautiful landscapes go it's second to none. Remove the danger and hey presto."

The King scowled and Akari was happy to let him sweat a little longer. She rearranged the fruit meaninglessly, and avoided his hot gaze. Finally, she returned his concern with quick dismissal; clapping her hands together firmly like that was the end of it.

"It's not like you would have to show yourself to anyone."

The air was cooler on the mountain, and thankfully so; during her prayers Akari appreciated the way the breeze ruffled her hair and drifted across her fevered skin. Her concentration slipped only once wondering if he experienced the same sensations.

_Please watch over Maya and her new baby._

Did he even grow cold in the winter?

_Please help my watermelons grow even larger than last year._

Perhaps she would take up knitting— maybe a scarf?

"You're laughing to yourself."

"I'm not."

The farmland was relatively self-sufficient during these long days. On the condition that she was diligent in her morning tasks the afternoon hours went spare. She could till, or rotate, or prune, but the option was hers. She had a sprinkler that could easily be set up to mist the plantation if the sun became too much but generally she figured what crop that could survive this heat would survive. Her animals spent the hottest hours indoors, dozy and lethargic. And so she often found herself retreating up the mountain for hours at a time. Happy silences, crude conversation; she could always rely on the King to keep things colourful. It was comforting.

She came to rest against his throne, the hard rock pressing into her back and the dry grass beneath her, and he stood some meters away surveying the island with arms folded; a sight that, to Akari, was as natural and familiar as the sun setting at the end of the day.

The fierce orange blaze of a bowing star, obligated to give way to the night sky...In this respect wasn't he more like the sunrise? –Brilliant and conquering –Burning high above all the little people who yielded to its capriciousness.

"You're laughing again."

"I'm not."

The small island settlement may have had their goddess- the water and the earth- but without the sun there would be no using these gifts. In her mind it was simple.

Eventually she stood and he marked her movement with a sharp glance out of the corner of his eye. She didn't bother to dust away the dirt that clung to her bottom as she retrieved her basket and tightened the knots in her boots. She fit herself next to him where the tight edge of the summit seemed as though it would swallow them both, and looked out over the village where the street lamps had begun to light. Viewed from above the streets resembled the threads of a spider's web; the tiny lights like dew drops. It was pretty and quaint. Did he look this way too or further beyond where her human senses couldn't reach?

"Want to come with me?"

It was too absurd for him to even reward her with an answer. A husky breath escaped through his nose in curt dismissal.

She laughed once more, light and surrendering, "Maybe tomorrow."

* * *

Tomorrow came and with it heavy rainfall.

The mountain pass was an even more precarious expedition during adverse weather. Rivulets of muddy water ran in vein-like networks, carrying broken bits of twig and branches from the older trees and building deep quagmires.

Hiking in this was reckless even by her standards and yet the teleportation stone was already a good mile or two behind her. No matter how much her queasy stomach now relished in the idea of skipping this part now the way back down had already become unclear. She would have to press on and use it on the way back to make haste towards a hot bath complete with lavender bubbles and a glass of the good stuff. Afterward she would visit the carpenter Dale and the blacksmith Ramsey and get some quotes on repairing the path. The idea hardened her resolve.

Lightning flashed and she counted, a distant rumble of thunder still far enough that she could swallow the nervous lump that threatened to rise in her throat so desperately. The rain was one thing but the storm had not been forecasted. It wouldn't matter to the King; he would scold her all the same. Habit, routine, or any excuse otherwise, she found herself hoping he did.

Lightning struck again, as though tearing through the opposite side of the mountain. She shrieked but didn't hear her own sound. On the pass above her a tree had broken. It wasn't the lightning, it had been too far away, but looking at the tangle of wood she could deduce it had simply cracked under the weight of another. The terrible snapping crash had been enough to rival the ensuing thunder. It slid through the mud undeterred.

Her feet tripped over each other, too slippery to find purchase again. Lightning exploded in blinding forks all around her.

The tree crashed down.

* * *

Akari was heavy. All around her was air and feather, like clouds, cradling her deep in its bosom as though she were a stone. The silence filled her ears like cotton wool until at last there was blessed sound.

"_Stupid woman,"_

Yes, she was.

"_You are dead. There is no one to save you in a place no one ventures, no one to check the clocks when you are late to arrive home. No babes to cry in longing when they miss their mother's breast."_

A tear slipped free, turning to steam. The heaviness pooled around her heart until she wanted to bawl for her utter helplessness. Instead the voice called her back, demanding.

"_You will live because I will it so, but in turn you are indebted to me."_

Akari wanted to speak- knew exactly the words- but she couldn't find her tongue. Instead she drifted, accepting, leaning deeper into the cradle where it was infinitely warm and the pain seemed to ease.

_**Then nothing has changed.**_

* * *

Akari woke up in her bed. The evidence of last night's narrow escape from the wreckage of the mountain was apparent in every ache and bruise, and there were many. She popped and groaned as she slowly pushed herself up and out of the sheets. When she set her feet on the cool unfurnished floorboards she winced at the bloated purple skin that was peeking through crudely wrapped bandaging.

She managed to reach her hoe which lay deserted on the floor nearby; a habit she'd always known was in need of fixing now a gratifying stroke of luck. The tool worked as a crutch to help her reach her boots. She'd been stripped down to her camisole and underwear; last night's muddy clothes were discarded in the sink.

She smiled around a split lip.

He had been here in this very house.

The god had travelled down off the mountain for the first time in countless decades.

It took her longer than she would have liked to lash her feet into the boots but afterward her ankles were stronger; the support of the stiff leather doing most of the work to hold her weight. However with boots on first, her denim shorts were out of the question. The only option in her closet was a plain but charming one-piece, yellow in colour with little in the way of frills- a simple summer dress. She pulled it over her head in one swift motion that made her aches sing and little spots dance behind her eyelids and then she was done with it.

She retrieved the makeshift crutch and left.

The teleportation stone glowed dimly as though it were expecting her. She braced herself, sucked in a shaky breath, and clapped her hand over it. The mountain whipped past.

On the summit the King stood waiting, arms folded, lips tight in a scowl, backed by the setting sun. He did not move to catch her as her stomach turned and she folded over with it, retching dryly.

"You have come for my orders," he said evenly. The tone denoted an instruction rather than a question. Akari wanted to defy him, to have the same usual conversation and eventually thank him for saving her life but her position left her with little authority. She was bowed before him; her body tormented and mind swimming. She nodded with a diffidence she despised, hating her powerlessness.

"You will tend to your farm," he began mysteriously; the force of the light behind him left her squinting, trying to focus, until his features became indiscriminate.

"You will water your crops and feed your village.

You will build your houses and grow old. Before that time you will find a mate and bear many children."

Akari trembled; a sudden overwhelming sense of foreboding gripped her. She wanted him to stop but the heavy golden light of the sun continued to silence her.

"You will not mend the pass. You will not bring trespassers to this place.

You will never come here again."

The sun disappeared behind the horizon and darkness reigned. Released from her spell Akari sobbed.

"I don't understand," she said at length, her voice barely above a whisper. He had told her to stay away before but it had never been like this. It was never a command- it had never been contractual. Had he saved her only to send her away?

He didn't hesitate in answering, "Because I have tired of your foolishness."

That ignited a spark. "You're lying," she realized quietly. The reason was there if she could only reach out to it. His eyes were hard. He didn't even flinch.

"I have nothing to gain in lying."

Suddenly she was flying, hurtling down at a speed humans were never meant to know. Her stomach was a tight knot and her eyes watered. She landed in a burst of flower petals, wailing. When she dared to open her eyes she was at the base of the mountain where the second teleportation stone should have been. Instead there was nothing more than a circle of bare soil where something had once sat. Summer wildflower had cradled her landing though her ankles throbbed maddeningly. Wildflower, she thought, that she couldn't remember being there before.

She clutched at the hoe that had descended with her and stiffly got to her feet, but not before casting one last helpless glare at the mountain above her.


	2. An Interlude with Time

_**Part Two: An Interlude with Time**_

* * *

Without the teleporting stone Akari couldn't reach the summit. Her feet were in no condition to traverse the overgrown pass, both ankles clearly sprained, but what was worse was that the fateful storm had resulted in a landslide- there wasn't much of a pass left. After no change to the pass or hint at the stone's whereabouts she discontinued her visits and returned to the farm with heavy reluctance.

More than ever she wished for Finn. Her curious little companion would have no doubt reassured her that this wasn't the end, that the King was as he was and she would just need to keep trying; Finn would be her ever steady friend and guide, lighting the way. Just like old times.

Instead there was only work. Hours and hours of toil made harder by her condition. The swelling in her feet went down little by little but the pain continued to gnaw at her. The good doctor Jin had conceded her fears: she had broken most of her toes and the bones needed to set before they could mend. If she was hasty she might never walk without pain again. The bones that had already begun to heal improperly were broken again.

Jin's wife Anissa was incorrigible and insisted she help out on the farm while she got the rest necessary for healing. She recruited the ranch-hands Grey and Renee to assist with the animals. Tucked up in bed Akari had little else to do but wonder after the turn of events. Summer was passing her by, had the last few years been the same?

"Hey Finn," she would call out, thinking to greet him cheerfully.

She wasn't sure when it happened. After their quest Finn had returned to the Goddess, but he would still visit her from time to time. She'd heard of the phenomenon from Gill, and once or twice from a few of the village children: sometimes you just stopped seeing.

There was no answer.

With her gaze focused on the faded pattern of her duvet, she allowed heavy tears to fall. How did she still see and hear the King if everything else has become invisible to her.

She paced around the idea until fact and reason lost shape and became meaningless. It was unfair, cruel.

"Are you comfortable?" Anissa asked soothingly, fluffing her pillow. She was like a freshly plucked flower in a room Akari had become far too familiar with.

"Thank you," she replied with a polite smile. She wanted nothing more than to be uncomfortable; to feel the ground beneath her boots, the hoe bite into the soil, the cool mist of the waterfall where she liked to fish. But her farm was already beginning to resemble something she no longer knew. She was sick with herself for her inability to accept the villager's kindness graciously.

What was it she had come here for?

"Finn?" she called again when she was alone. Her curtains were lit orange by the harvest moon that slowly slipped away behind the trees.

_Autumn_, she realized.

"If you are there, I want you to know that I miss you. I hope you aren't sad seeing me like this." Tears staunched, she watched her farm change beyond the windowpane.

"I'm going to get better."

* * *

Van's claret eyes were pinched and exhausted behind his round glassy frames. Akari knew that look. It was the same expression that took up residence on his father's face during her afternoon check-ups.

"Hurry up, Akari," He sighed. He didn't seem to notice to the irrational tapping of his foot that progressed during his wait. Cheeky, she thought, his genetics were surely an anomaly; one does not put the doctor and his wife together and arrive at the conclusion of this impatient little scholar. His recent outspokenness was his and his alone.

"I'm hurrying," she replied good-naturedly, dodging the blurred figures of Roy and Lucy that seems to scissor between her legs.

"She's broken ,Van, don't push her!" Lucy announced.

"Not broken anymore per se..." Akari interjected, grateful for Lucy's defence but keen to clear her name of prejudice all the same. "I'm fine, I'll catch you up." She winked to Van and the stoic boy nodded firmly, chasing after the others.

Her newfound company marched ahead to the stables and Akari reflected on their retreating backs. During their walks her feet still protested, but it was an entirely necessary operation.

Initially the idea provoked both Jin's disapproval and Anissa's starry-eyed admiration. However the latter would quickly and efficiently suffocate such admiration under her motherly yet sterile work-ethic.

"I can't stay inside any longer," She had said, appealing to them both.

"I'm going stir-crazy and I'm about to hatch bedsores- just two hours!" she urged. Two hours was nothing in the retrospect of her month in confinement, she thought, they had to agree to that. But Jin hesitated. He tapped the end of his pen against his lips as he studied her paperwork.

"You are a very impulsive individual, Akari..." He said, glancing at her warily, "There will be conditions."

Two hours only, no climbing, running, or heavy lifting- no fun; Akari could remember all that easily.

With the clinic on her side, she approached the school's headmaster next. His surprise was needlessly transparent.

"Teaching?" Gill summarized, his hands threaded before him. His new office was empty save for them and a variety of shelved books.

"Yes," She answered, refusing to divulge.

"How to milk a cow?" The lilt of scepticism in his tone did not escape her but she ignored it.

"Amongst other things."

He leaned back in his chair until it squeaked and watched her thoughtfully. His scrutiny had been worse than Jin's and although she probably still deserved it, sitting through the process again was another thing entirely. She squirmed, chewed the inside of her cheek, and wished that he would finish soon.

"I think it's a great idea."

"What?" She rasped, unable to contain her astonishment.

"Sure," Gill smiled; it was a small uneven smile that didn't do his handsome features enough justice. It felt a little practiced but it was honest. "I'm glad you want to be involved again. Before the accident happened I thought we would lose you." He sucked his simpering position back sharply realizing his error. "No, just that you've been quite distant after everything seemed to turn around."

Akari wanted to sink into the ground. She and Gill had never been the best of friends but he'd understood her task and come to her rescue more than once. Their lives continued to move in opposite directions but he would always be a kindred spirit of sorts.

"That bad?" she asked soberly, feeling warmth spread in her cheeks. Something about Gill's previous scrutiny felt a little different now; inquisitive to the point of creating heat. She wanted to apologize for her behaviour and be away, back to old habits- habits that made her feel secure.

He nodded and seeming to sense her frustration turned off his gaze. "It's better this way. You're one of us you know. If you ever need help you need only ask and we would be there immediately."

"_We_," she chuckled awkwardly, he could be such a Sunday afternoon TV special sometimes, "Thank you, Gill" she blushed again and his lopsided smile returned.

"Now that that's said, I'll deliver your students tomorrow."

By mid-afternoon that day Akari's farm was overrun by six to eight-year-olds. Gill had amended the class schedule every Tuesday to fit her in. Little learning was achieved in the first couple of weeks, but her students were energetic and responsive. Chasing after them allowed her rehabilitation to progress and she had a better idea of which children required what measure of instruction.

Rather than 'teacher' she felt more like she'd become 'friend' or 'playmate'-just another kid. As she felt better Jin's conditions became harder to maintain.

Van had taken a particular fondness to her given the amount of extra hours he and his mother had spent with her over the summer helping out with the crops. He often stayed later after the other children had been collected and brought home. Anissa was apologetic at first but eventually grateful for the additional time she could put in at the clinic.

"No heavy lifting," he reminded as she bent to retrieve the latest steel milk canister which was full to the brim. Sometimes she wondered if he wasn't just positioned here as a spy.

"So what shall we do with it then?" She returned frankly. She could practically read the calculations as they crossed his overly candid expression.

"I'll help you!"

Together they lifted the canister into the shipping box; although Akari had carried most of the weight Van had to raise his side of the can nearly over his head. Afterward he looked significantly impressed. They sat on her porch waiting for Anissa. The air had grown crisp and instead of the usual lemonade they drank hot cocoa; Akari's a dark chocolate froth and Van's more warm milk than anything else.

The same image of the distant mountain stretched out before them, masked by low hanging cloud and strangely comforting in its obscurity. Akari couldn't help but remember how she had wanted the King to sit with her just like this: amicable and silent. Perhaps looking up at the mountain like this instead of down from it might have eased his sorrows.

"Will you still teach us after your better?" Van asked.

"Hm, it'd probably be better to focus on my work again." she ruffled his hair and he immediately made to fix it.

"Can I still visit then?" he prodded.

For the first time since she'd settled on the island Akari felt wanderlust, but those claret eyes watched her with naive confidence and she couldn't bear to betray it.

"Of course."

Their comfortable evening wait persisted but Akari's heart had begun to race. It was reckless, foolish- stupid. She should stay here and continue to build on the life the King had charged her with.

It would happen naturally, the town was still just as willing to embrace her as it had been years ago; the children and their parents smiled her way every day and her crops were better than ever. Thanks to their generosity she felt she could simply hand herself over to them and she would live happily ever after. She would grow old. She would take a suitor; have children of her own...

And yet the mountain beckoned, Akari felt that with certainty. Perhaps it was only in reply to her itchy feet, still eager for adventure, but she sensed it went beyond that. By the time she had given it proper consideration she knew her mind had already been made up. The King's last orders pricked at her; to disobey would be to go against a god. And this time he held sway over her very existence.

It seemed she was still foolish after all.

* * *

_A/N: Titled such as I'm sure the leaps through time offered a fair amount of confusion. The hours always seems to blend into one when you're at war with something._


	3. Bravely Surrender

_**Part Three: Bravely Surrender**_

* * *

Akari stood at the mountain's base in the circle of frosty wildflower and pressed her palms together. Her head bowed and her shoulders rigid, she prayed.

"Go easy on me, okay."

She hefted her axe, checked that the straps of her utility belt was tight around her hip and all its contents secure and set out; new boots crunched along the icy terrain with resounding assurance in every step. The air felt great, the slow climb upward tugging forgotten muscles into action again. Her broken feet had made a complete recovery. Whether it was thanks to Jin's insistent regime of rest and rehabilitation in equal measures or merely the powers that be didn't matter, she was thankful to both.

Shovelling frozen debris away from the path, she realized quickly that she was working from her memories rather than evidence itself. The landslide had completely obliterated what little was left of the already forgotten pass. Branches of once proud trees were left tangled with the smaller saplings nearer the bottom; they were sewn together by a mixture of time and frosts. She wiped her brow, smiled softly, and thought that was just fine. She'd build a thousand new paths before reaching the top if it was necessary.

_He would really hate me for that._

Wintertime on the island was fairly mild. Snow fell, saturated with salt air, and melted at the touch. Near the shore it was little more than a cool shower. But the ground still froze deeper inland and the frosts were cruel the higher you went. She'd worn an extra layer of thermal undergarment in preparation for the cold. There was a pair of woolly socks and thick warm gloves tucked under the band of her belt like four scruffy little stowaways and she guessed it wouldn't be long before she'd seek their additional comfort.

The risks were apparent, and after losing her capabilities as an able-bodied person for too long she knew to respect them. It wouldn't do to admit that she felt a twinkle of confidence that even should danger befall her she would be safe. It was unjust to expect such things. He wasn't some holy safety net, he might even be angry enough to leave her for dead this time. But he knew she came, that was a certainty.

The axe cracked a fallen branch in half within three swings. The log was big enough around to produce a small table; each ring of years it had lived easily discernable. Akari would have liked to see that tree in its full glory. It would've been formidable of course, but also very beautiful. Her heart felt heavy as she waded through the devastation. Did all things in nature meet their end this way or was this a kind of rebirth for the mountain? Out with the old and in with the new. Like the fires that razed the forest when it was ready for new life to spring from the ashes of the dead.

Was the King the same? She'd always felt in some way that he and the mountain were connected. It ran deeper than just the shrine where she deposited her offerings to him- the fact that he was the guardian god of their blessed elements- they were a reflection of each other. What sort of rebirth was he preparing for?

Akari gripped the axe tighter and crawled carefully along an uneven cropping of stone. She reminded every muscle not to be impatient and give in to the urgency she felt in reaching him.

She climbed higher and found herself praying again.

"Wait for me...Wait."

* * *

On top of the mountain the summit was unchanged except for the empty throne. The hokura was dusty, bare of offerings, and a pacing circle was clear of snow round the sharp cliff edge. The only thing she did not recognize was the teleportation stone hidden in the far thicket. She dropped her axe against the throne and made her way towards it.

Beside the stone, the smaller twin retrieved from the base was rested at an angle. It was obvious they were tossed here unceremoniously, out of his sight, and yet like this the smaller one appeared to be seeking comfort; leaning against the larger of the two for support. Instinctively her hand reached for it.

"Don't," a voice spoke, deep and fatigued; she spun to meet it and met eyes like fire. "It's still active."

The King was a splash of paint on the otherwise white canvas of the mountain. Snow drifted behind him but never seemed to fall upon him. His hair was a tangle of scarlet down his back, though locks of it continued to escape and sweep into his eyes. His robes remained unchanged but pristine, baring his arms and a good portion of his well-muscled chest. His feet were still bare but the skin showed no signs of the biting cold that permeated from the frozen earth.

Akari drank in the sight of him as though her months away had actually lasted years. She had become far too accustomed to his beauty when she had been able to visit each day.

"Oh," she supplied lamely, feeling as though her mouth had filled with sand, "Sorry."

He dropped into his throne as though he hadn't heard her. A curled fist found the underside of his chin shortly after and he looked out upon his kingdom with heavily-lidded eyes full of disinterest. Akari couldn't see past the fog. She took a step towards him, knees weak, but he spoke first.

"Why have you come?"

Akari's lips fluttered around her long-practice words, but he interrupted once more.

"You have dissolved our contract in doing so."

"Fine!" she sputtered hurriedly, "Just hear me out before you send me away again."

His eyes focused on her sharply, daggers of red under a knit brow. His eyes spoke for him: _I'm listening._

Akari paced, feeling her confidence rise again but needing a moment to collect herself. "Okay," she turned to face him. Even sat in his throne he was nearly tall enough for their gazes to level.

"I went against your orders," she began sagely, "and I'm sorry.

I tried to follow your wishes and I kept coming out empty-handed. I have my place in this life, my place with the villagers, but it isn't enough. You were wrong."

The King's eyebrows rose. Akari understood that he was unused to being called out like this, and with the playful nature of their back and forth removed she had no way of telling how he would react. All the same, she had no intention of stopping. She swallowed hard.

"I don't need a husband at home, and I don't need someone to worry after me. Until I came here I've always been alone, and now that I've done my job I'm all alone again,"

The King looked away tiredly and she could tell she was losing him, so her hastened ahead.

"But I need this, I need to come here, and I need you."

Akari was rooted to the spot. He gave pause, gazing distantly and finally turned back to her. His expression was strangely open; a placid lake of water just waiting for something to throw a stone.

"I'm sorry that I made you worry. I won't give up on coming here, and I can only promise to be more careful, but I understand-"

The King had risen, and he looked down on her like a beam of hot sunshine. She discovered the courage to look back. He ran a hand through the hair that lay alongside her cheek bone and cupped her chin.

"That's enough now," he rumbled, although the command was softer than usual. The hand that held her dropped away and her cheek turned cold again.

"Then...?"

He cast a careless hand away, the palm open and the fingers splayed. In an instant the teleportation stone was back where it belonged and the twin was gone.

"You will get used to the sensation of travelling."

"You mean I can't finish the pass?" The King frowned and she followed it up with a light little laugh, "Right, no trespassers, I've got it.

Then how come I'm allowed?" she asked against her better judgement. She felt anxious like a school girl.

"You are different," he said without hesitation, "You belong."

* * *

The King had not lied, after a few journeys with the teleportation stone her stomach no longer turned. The dizziness would take a moment or two to dissipate, but the terrible sensation of wrongness never took root again. Akari had to kick herself for causing so much trouble over what boiled down to as a little bit of a sore tummy one day.

However the entire ordeal had cast one long lasting change she wouldn't have traded for the world.

"Akari,"

She jolted from her crouched position near the stone. She'd discovered that the travelling was a lot easier when she was in a full brace position. Her heart hammered hard and she was sure it wasn't an after-effect.

"Akari," he called again, stronger this time. He neared her side.

She smiled, as much as it felt ridiculous on her face, "I'm okay."

Sat in front of the shrine, arranging her offering of the traditional steamed cake she grew more and more anxious. Her shoulders were bunched uncomfortably and her breath came in hesitant little gasps as she tried to disguise her breathlessness.

_Get a hold of yourself, Akari._

He waited behind her, his arms crossed in his usual manner and the heat of his gaze locked on the cakes until she feared they might melt- another one to cross off the list of favourites.

_King_, she tried. No, _**my**__ King_—**my lord**,

"Hey," she blurted ineffectually, "if you gave me some clues you wouldn't have to put up with my guessing."

"It's more entertaining to watch."

She laughed, relaxing, "That's not fair."

Once the morning fog had cleared they stood on the edge of the summit and she pointed to her farm. She showed him every plot of land explaining what would grow once the spring returned and she named each of the grazing animals though they were little more than dots. The King stood by, patient with her rambling, and teased her for her efforts with the haggard expression of someone deeply harassed.

"I know," he said plainly.

"How? We're up so high you can hardly see."

"I know," he repeated, and she failed to find a second retort.

"King," she groped cautiously, studying her feet. Her nose wrinkled up at the sound of the title finally spoken.

"Akari," he returned as though speaking to a child. But it was thanks to his unabashed pompousness that nodded firmly, finding the will to continue.

"You know my name but even after all this time I don't know what to call you."

"You may call me as you see fit."

She balked, laughing humourlessly as his expression remained fixed, "So you don't have a name?"

"It hasn't bothered you until now," he said pointedly.

"Well..." she watched the tiny meandering dots of her cattle, "You've never used my name until now."

The King was still. After a moment she realized that while he may have made the conscious decision to call her he hadn't anticipated that she would figure it out quite so soon. She wanted to gloat; they were more alike than he knew.

"You have earned that honour."

Akari was taken aback, her heart thumping hard suddenly, "Then I'd like to give you that same honour."

"No," he said, purpose in every syllable. He swung away from the summit edge gracefully with a soft swish. "No human has ever known my name. It is not your honour to bestow."

"That's not fair!" she rebuked immediately, an echo of her earlier criticism. His eyebrow twitched amusedly and his lips curled at the corners until there was a mean little smile.

"Fairness was never on the table."

Akari raged feebly, too many miles away from civilization to disturb much more than a leaf. She cast him a backwards glance petulantly thinking to stick out her tongue- the ultimate show of disrespect, and the most childish, but the King was laughing

And his deep generous laugh burned all of her frustration away.

* * *

"You're going up the mountain again?" Van eyed her suspiciously.

Akari faltered, "How did you know?"

"It's obvious isn't it?" he huffed, "You're rushing all your jobs and you keep looking up at it."

"You're very astute for a seven year old, you know that?"

"And you keep checking your hair," he frowned.

"I do not!" She defended, at once combing her fingers through her short locks, "you're following me aren't you Van..."

The boy in question blushed until even his ears showed red, "Dad told me." He fidgeted and his eyes grew wet; his glasses magnified the tears until they looked primed for bursting. "Don't go, Akari, you'll hurt yourself again."

When Akari lowered herself to his eye level he really did cry. He brushed big gobs of tears away with chubby knuckled fists. She pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm not going to get hurt, I promise. I'm more careful now."

"You can't promise that," he sniffled, "you can't control what might happen."

She smiled, squeezing him once. "Sure, that's true, but I also have a guardian spirit." Van looked at her with hesitant interest, his tears dammed for the moment, and she took that as her sign to continue.

"Maybe you have one too, there about this big with big black eyes and little feet. They were colourful hats and they fly on wings like a dragonfly." The hands that had moved to press Vans into a fairy-sized shape dropped away, but his interest didn't waver.

"A guardian spirit..." Van contemplated.

"They're called sprites. Mine is named Finn."

"I've never seen one before."

"You have to keep looking," she coaxed, "They'll appear if your mind is open and your heart is good and I know you have both of those things, Van.

Don't worry about me, I'll always find my way home."

Once she had seen Van home to his mother, Akari deviated from her original plans. She went to the Goddess Tree and saw that it was once again laden with fruit. Even on her tiptoes they hung too high to reach, and the goddess did not answer to her call.

The new spring was still cool but the sun was bright so Akari sat under its shade. With her arms wrapped around her knees she watched the boughs that seemed to hug the sky around her and didn't see even the tiniest flicker of movement.

She was unable to tell how much time had passed when he appeared.

"She sleeps," The King said sombrely.

Akari tried not to stare at the way he set all of the soft blues and greens of the Goddess Pond alight with his fierce scarlet, "What are you doing here?" she asked, forgetting herself.

"She told me you were here, and I sensed your wavering heart."

Akari buried her face between her knees. She sometimes forgot that she was not dealing with just another man but a divine being; what other sort of things did he sense without her knowing, she wondered?

_-"You keep checking your hair."_

She chewed her lip where he couldn't see.

"You were late," The King finished shortly and Akari glanced up, startled. The daylight poked through the trees and dappled over his sun kissed skin. His eyes were steady on hers as his hand was offered to pull her up.

"Come," he said gently.

She reached for him and the fingers that closed around her smaller hand were surprisingly cool.

The pond disappeared, the tree disappeared, and with them all her false sensations of loneliness. The King was a balm to every pain and uncertainty that had ever plagued her, erasing them all with his comfortable heat. The swell of their movement set her dizzy but his presence enveloped her like a barrier. He was supportive and strong yet infinitely soft- so different from travelling by the stones on her own.

When she opened her eyes again they were on the mountain, her cheek flush against his chest. She stepped away slowly, allowing the fresh open air to clear the fuzziness from her head.

"Come," he repeated, motioning toward the hokura. "What have you brought today? The sprites are hungry for more of your terrible cakes."

Akari laughed weakly at the mention of sprites, "Just bread again," she replied.

The King sniffed disdainfully, "They hate the bread."

* * *

In the summer of that year Akari was once again accustomed to spending her lazy afternoons bathing in the sunshine. Her fieldwork had dwindled with her latest purchase of a second-hand irrigation system which she had bought with some of the money she'd earned from selling a number of her pedigreed animals. It was a reluctant goodbye but she always knew it would come to this.

On the summit the King sat in his throne, never complaining of the heat or the sun in his eyes; warm yet peaceable. Akari rested her head against his knees, drawing her finger through the sandy dust near his toes and drifting in and out of thought. Sometimes she dozed, waking up with the dazed sensation that her hair had been stroked tenderly while she slept.

As the evenings closed in and the sun dipped behind the clouds Akari's energy would return. The summit was not the most entertaining of places but it was amongst the most mysterious.

"How long have you lived here?" She had done a third turn around the hokura, looking for any secret seams of trap doors. With some luck she might find a manuscript of a sacred item; something that bound the King here like any other deity to a shrine.

"Longer than a number that you might successfully recite for me," he mocked good-naturedly.

"Hey, I'm great with numbers- and success!"

She ran her fingers along the underside of the eaves, over every stone, and came away dusty but not deterred.

"What you are doing is very disrespectful," The king warned, but continued to watch her with amusement. "And it is getting late. Your quest for whatever it is you are seeking will have to wait."

"I don't live far. It's not like I haven't walked home in the dark before," she answered coolly, pushing her hair from her face as she studied the roof next.

"The dark is no place for a woman," he grabbed her hand, removing it from the hokura and entwining their fingers. She hadn't noticed when he had closed in behind her. The King led her and deftly placed the hand which he had claimed onto the glowing teleportation stone, trapping it under his own. "Go," he ordered.

At the sight of their hands, with his warmth at her back, something stirred in Akari's breast and fluttered like a trapped bird. The feeling sang down through every vein; a sweet discomfort.

"Come with me," she murmured.

He hesitated, "I cannot."

"Then let me stay."

The King sighed, releasing her. "How carefree..."

"No," she turned into him, "it isn't. I've thought about it a lot."

"Then your thought process is inefficient," he interrupted sternly and his gaze grew sharp.

He swept an arm out and gestured across the plateau, "What do you see here, Akari? A palace around my throne? A kitchen to make your bread in? A bed for you to rest?"

Akari refused to look and so he continued.

"There is nothing. No room for you, no creature comforts. There is merely a man, who neither sleeps nor feeds as you do."

Akari shook, "Then what do I need to do to stand by that man?"

The summit was quiet; free of bird call, and the whistle of the wind through the thinning trees. The plateau stood empty as he had said; the tiny hokura and a throne made of stone stood as the only documentation of his life here. Suddenly it seemed too sad, his godliness more like a curse- what did he live to gain from this world that did not worship him? Did all of his desires simply disappear as he looked down on his thriving natural land? And how many years had he spent in anguish over these very same thoughts.

Were gods and humans- their mortal reflections- really so different?

"You do not know what you are saying."

"But I do." She insisted, "You know as well as I do that I'm here more often than I am not, that I've slowly been relinquishing my work... That I nearly go myself killed trying to get to you..."

"You will die," The King sanctioned. His stature was proud and every bit a god who had seen the world begin and end and who would repeat the cycle again. He was all angles and shadows of power and loneliness in equal measures, but solidified by the intense determination never to fold under the weight of either.

"And I will not."

Akari squared her shoulders and straightened her back, trying to match his show of strength as best as she could; a human, a girl, a love.

"Then we shouldn't waste the time that we've been given."


	4. Van: An Epilogue

_**Final Part: An Epilogue**_

* * *

On a pleasant day, in the generous spring, the village of Harmonica showed little worry. The Town Hall stood as it always had, quiet inside and out as the school children played away, and the same steadfast clerk perched behind it's desks with a heavy stack of paperwork piled meticulously under his nose. The ledgers were flipped and turned, perused once more for good measure, and finally passed to the other side of the countertop.

A second occupant on the reverse side of the counter followed suit: paging through, calculating quickly, and initialling where necessary. When it came to the last page the clerk pressed his palm over it, redirecting his gaze.

Gill's frosty blue eyes had not lost any intensity with age, "You're sure about this?"

The man in question smiled, repositioning his heavy glasses with a practiced finger at the bridge of his nose. He brushed the covering hand away dismissively, much like he had his father's concern and levelled the pen again. Unbeknownst to the other an orange light hovered over his left shoulder, blinking like a firefly.

_"Van?"_

"_Who...what are you?"_

"_I'm a Harvest Sprite!"_

"_...A guardian spirit? Really?!" _

_"My name is Finn, and I need your help."_

"Van," Gill pressed, bringing him back to the room.

Van nodded, his glasses slipping once more, "Yes, I'm sure." The pen moved with light scrawling letters- indecipherable; a doctor's handwriting. Today he was a doctor no more. Gill retrieved the paperwork, tapped it in line with one sharp gesture, and began his furious stamping. The deed was slipped into a manila envelope and passed to him.

"Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of one government property ranch."

Van grinned, casting a surreptitious glance to Finn who had begun to clap excitedly at their success.

Gill's lips drew a line, and he recited his next lines peaceably, "Please check over the enclosed conditions of your loan and see to it that you are not late on your payments.

"You've made the right decision," Van promised.

"Show me that I have," Gill approved.

On the way to the farm Van walked the path he had known and loved all his young childhood. His books already having been transported, he carried his entire life in one meagre duffle bag. Finn was a buzz, making plans, recalling stories, laughing at his own boundless exuberance. Van couldn't help but get caught up in the sprite's enthusiasm as well; it'd been a long time since he had felt so certain about any one decision and even longer since he'd been excited to meet the outcome.

_-If your mind is open and your heart is good..._ How long had it been since he'd considered those words?

In the summer of his seventh year the girl farmer Akari disappeared. She had always been such a tenuous presence that he had never felt entirely safe in his adoration of her, but there had still been no stopping it. Her departure sent ripples through the entire village; some you could see and some that were too faint to notice without really looking. Van himself had never quite gotten over it.

That is until he met Finn.

"Do you know where Akari went, Finn?" the boy Van had asked. At once he was scared of the answer but desperate to fill the hole that she had left inside his heart.

"I know," Finn sang, gliding gracefully on dragonfly wings.

"Can you tell me?" Van clipped eagerly.

Finn spun, "I can do better that that!" tiny bug-black hands reached for Van, closing over his face as gentle as a gust of air.

In an instant Finn's features were diminished behind a scene of cloudy sky. Van was up high, further from the sea than he had ever been, and all around was dust and rock and thin oxygen-starved trees. And then he noticed, further away, the circle of wildflower. Colour and radiance bloomed in a lavish puddle set the middle of the rock.

Van gasped. There she stood not a day older than he could remember. Her face was alight with a smile; a reflective beauty he had never played spectator to before. Her hands were clasped between two larger ones that belonged to a man Van had never met. He in turn had a sort of solitary happiness about him, as though he too had just taken a step into the unknown. It swelled like a slow fire that suited his colouring. One after the other, Akari and the unknown man slid thin golden bands onto corresponding fingers.

Cautiously, gently, he bent to her and presented her lips with a kiss. Van blushed, squeaking his humiliation at witnessing such a thing, but was soon distracted by the thousands of tiny faces that shimmered and appeared all around the two. Finn, he thought, or creatures like him- and so many! Akari wept, gladness in every tear, and she clung to the man tightly.

"_Thank you,"_ she whispered, the image dwindling, _"Ignis, thank you."_

**Ignis**, Van thought.

An important person; an important name.

In the present day, Finn tugged on Van's earlobe. "Get your head in the game, Van; this is the first day of forever!"

The boy-turned-man laughed mirthfully at his co-conspirator and proposed, "For Akari?"

Fin threw his hat high, "For Akari!"

_~FIN~_

* * *

_A/N: Thank you for reading :') this story is dear to my heart. Please review and let me know what you thought._

_Just a few final notes that were not shown explicitly: Van grew up knowing Finn from a young age but he continued to complete his schooling and study as a doctor. Eventually he took up residence at the clinic without ever enjoying his career and finally Finn helped him overcome the fear and follow his dream: to pick up on the farm where Akari left off._

_After returning to the goddess, Finn had been reborn inside the Goddess Tree's fruit to find a new farmer. Although he had never technically been present during Akari's lower moments he still knew and felt her pain during this "dream sleep." The Goddess is healthy and well but slept in order to birth more sprites into the world. The farm had become an integral part of the natural balance in keeping her fit and alive on the island._

_As for Akari and Ignis... I hope we can all agree that they lived happily. Forever or for what time they had together._


End file.
